


Like An Idea She Came To Me

by Cinaed



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Female Characters, Rule 63, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-19
Updated: 2007-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-07 23:29:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/70372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinaed/pseuds/Cinaed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a moment of silence, Radka nudged another bag of M&Ms towards the pile of junk food in the middle of the table and said, "Is anyone going to call?" Her expression was one of a cat who'd gotten not one, but two canaries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like An Idea She Came To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks go out to introductory for the beta job. Written for the Femslashed!Challenge on sga_genderfuck.

_And like an idea she came to me  
but she came too late  
or maybe too soon._  
\- “She Says” by Ani DiFranco

Laura really should have known better. After all, sooner or later, _someone_ would have to to ask how she and Carson were doing -- she’d just hoped it would be at least a couple days after the break-up, not the night after.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed with Katie. She hadn’t known not to ask about Carson in the middle of Girls Poker Night, after all.

Laura’s voice was as casual as she could make it when she said, “Actually, Carson and I broke up. He’s a nice guy, but….” She trailed off, shrugged, and forced herself to smile wryly. “Just one of those things, I guess.” She kept her eyes on her cards, not meeting anyone’s gaze (and shit, she was going to lose half of her candy stash tonight if she wasn’t careful, especially if she got any more hands like this one).

“Oh, Laura,” Katie said, voice soft with sympathy, and Laura’s throat tightened up for a moment. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.”

At that, Laura forced herself to look up and smile at her friends around the table, all of whom wore understanding expressions. The tightness in her throat eased at the realization that they’d all been in her shoes at one point or another. “Thanks.”

After a moment of silence, Radka nudged another bag of M&amp;Ms towards the pile of junk food in the middle of the table and said, “Is anyone going to call?” Her expression was one of a cat who’d gotten not one, but two canaries.

Angela sighed and tossed her cards onto the table. “If you’re bluffing again, Radka, I’m going to hurt you,” she said plaintively. “That was the last of my Gummi Bears.”

Radka’s grin was positively wolfish at that remark. “I’m sure the next hand will be better for you, Simpson,” she said sweetly, ignoring the other woman’s narrowed eyes. “Maybe you’ll even win them back.”

“Keep up that taunting, and I’ll start thinking about revoking your right to be here, Radka,” Elizabeth interjected, though her smile belied the severity of her words.

“Yeah, then it might be a _fair_ game of poker,” Angela muttered without any real rancor, looking wistfully at her bag of Gummi Bears.

“I fold as well,” Teyla said with a quiet sigh as Radka continued to grin expectantly, and Laura followed suit, dropping her cards onto the table. After a moment, Elizabeth laughed a little and folded as well.

Then they all settled back to watch as Miko smiled serenely at Radka and dropped two bags of Jolly Rangers onto the pile.

*

“Laura!”

Stopping in the middle of the corridor, she turned to meet a familiar pair of bright blue eyes. “Oh, Radka. Did you need something?” She tried to keep her voice pleasant, although deep down she was lamenting the loss of the Athosian honey-cakes that Radka had won off of her. She’d been planning on having them with some wine as a consolation the next time she bumped into Carson.

Radka smiled and held up a bulging bag of candy. “You like Skittles, yes? I won a bag off Elizabeth, but I do not care for them so much, so if you want them….”

“Really?” Laura said, blinking in surprise. “I--” She remembered with a bittersweet pang how Carson had teased her about her strange love for the purple ones. Then the moment passed and she managed a grin. “I love them, thanks.”

Radka returned the smile and pressed the bag of Skittles into Laura’s hand. “Have a good night.” Her expression shifted to one of pure mischief. “Oh, and good luck on your mission tomorrow.”

Laura grimaced a little at the reminder. She was going to M9S-455, a planet well-known for its seemingly endless supply of ore but better known for its mud. She was beginning to suspect that if she had a newspaper readily available, her horoscope would tell her to just stay in bed for this week and that her stars weren’t aligned at all. “Thanks. Just don’t expect to see me for a week after, because that’s how long it’ll take for me to scrub off all the mud.”

Radka laughed. “I admit I don’t envy you your mission.” She reached out and gave Laura a pat on the shoulder. “Good night, Laura.” Her good mood was infectious, despite the week Laura was having, and Laura couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Sleep well,” she called after her, and then headed towards her own quarters, the weight of the Skittles bag oddly comforting in her grip.

*

“Not. One. Word,” Laura all but snarled as she stomped -- well, squelched, really

\-- through the gate, her three equally bedraggled teammates trailing after her. Not only had it been muddy, there had been not one, not two, but _three_ separate downpours during their visit to M9S-455. She was going to have to shower for an entire _month_ to feel clean again. 

To her credit, Elizabeth’s mouth only trembled for a brief moment before she assumed a diplomatic look of neutrality. “Was your mission successful, Lieutenant?”

“If it wasn’t and I’m forced to go back, I’ll kill myself,” Laura muttered, and Elizabeth’s lips trembled again. “Permission to let Lieutenant Stackhouse fill you in on the details, ma’am.” She ignored Stackhouse’s soft groan of protest. He could stand being muddy for a while longer -- _she_ was headed off to the shower.

“How about you all get cleaned up and report to me in two-- four hours to report?” Elizabeth suggested, and before Laura could respond, Stackhouse said quickly, “A wonderful idea, ma’am. We’ll see you in four hours.”

“Thank you,” Laura added in chorus with Ehrlichmann and Akhatova, and headed towards her quarters with what little dignity that she could salvage, taking a twisted pleasure in leaving muddy footprints for whoever was on cleaning duty this week.

She was halfway to her quarters when she bumped into McKay, who took one look at her and almost fell over laughing. “You look…worse than Zelenkova did…after M7G-677,” he gasped, face bright red.

Laura wondered if Elizabeth would be very annoyed if she shot McKay. Well, it was a nice fantasy, at the very least. “If you don’t leave right now, I’ll sneeze on you and give you my cold,” she said. If she hadn’t been so pissed and miserable, it would have been amusing the way his eyes widened in alarm and how quickly he stepped away from her.

Finally, though, she was in her quarters. More importantly, she was in her shower, washing M9S-455 off of her. It took half of her shampoo and the better part of an hour to get all the mud out of her hair. She’d just gotten into clean clothes, reveling in the feel of a dry T-shirt and sweatpants against her skin, when someone knocked on the door.

“One minute!” she called, cursing under her breath. Elizabeth had promised her four hours before she had to report. When she got to the door and waved it open, though, she stared. “Radka?”

“Rodney mentioned you had a cold,” Radka explained, flushing a little at Laura’s startled look and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Well, he actually complained that you’d threatened him with germ warfare and that you should be shipped back to Earth for endangering the brightest mind on Atlantis. I thought, since they happened to have chicken noodle soup for lunch, you might, ah--” She offered a tray, complete with a covered bowl and spoon.

The smell of chicken and noodles made Laura’s mouth water, and it was only then her body remembered that she’d turned down the meal that the natives of M9S-455 had offered. Suddenly starving, she accepted the bowl with eager hands and an emphatic “Thank you.”

Radka’s face was still pink as she answered, “You’re welcome. Ah, and now I really should get back to the labs. I walked away from Rodney in mid-rant, and he’s probably taking it out on someone while they entertain murderous thoughts.” She said the last part almost fondly.

Laura shook her head. She would never understand how Radka and McKay were friends. Radka usually seemed so…sane. “Thank you,” she repeated, feeling the hunger pangs start. “And tell McKay that if everyone who threatened him or entertained thoughts of his death were shipped back to Earth, there’d be no one left on Atlantis.”

Radka laughed a little at that, but shook her head. “That isn’t true.”

“Oh?” Laura said skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

“I have yet to hear Miko speak badly of him,” Radka said in response to Laura’s grin. “Or,” she continued, her eyes gleaming, “his lovely Katie.”

“Yes, well, give it time. Once her infatuation fades, she’ll complain about him. Nicely and reluctantly, but she’ll complain,” Laura said.

“We’ll see,” Radka said, her eyes still gleaming behind her glasses. She brushed a strand of hair that’d escaped her bun away from her face and smiled. “Enjoy the soup, Laura.”

“I will,” Laura assured her, and half-closed her eyes as she breathed in the soup’s delicious, mouth-watering scent. When she opened her eyes, Radka was wearing an odd expression. “What?”

Radka flushed again. “Nothing. I, ah, will see you at the next poker night.” Before Laura could respond, Radka turned and walked quickly down the corridor.

“See you!” Laura called after her, and though Radka’s steps slowed, she didn’t stop and turn back. Laura shook her head. Well, Radka had to be a bit insane to deal with McKay on a regular basis. It was only a matter of time before she herself finally started to snap.

She looked down at the covered bowl and laughed a little as her stomach growled. She would have to thank Radka somehow. Maybe invite her to watch some DVDs Lindsey was bringing on the next _Daedalus_ trip. Lindsey had a copy of the movie version of _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_, if she remembered correctly. And Radka liked comic books, didn’t she? Maybe she’d like _The Fantastic Four_.

For the moment, though, Laura’s stomach was rumbling and demanding food. She’d talk to Radka later.

 


End file.
